The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1887-06-25

cepted all the little kind offices which
he bestowed on her, and matters pro- I
crossed favorably between them.
But all summers have an end, and |
with the end of this one came tempo
rary end to Johnson's cherished dreams.
Miss DeBar was very reticent inregard |
to her family affairs, merely mention
ing that her father was dead and
that her home was in New York.
As we said before, all things
must come to close, and when, there
fore, she announced that her depart
ure in few days was necessity, he
grew unaccountably sad. He would
gladly have asked her to remain and
share his all, but he could not. A
strange, inward feeling advised him
otherwise, and so he followed the die
tates of his conscience and refrained
from mentioning that which would
have made him happy man.
On the day of Miss DeBar's depart
ure he was, much to his regret, sud-
denly called away'to a neighboring
city on business matters of great inn
portance. He was in hope of receiv-
ing an invitation to visit her, for dur
ing one of their drives he had in
formed her that he would be obliged
to return East the coming winter. He
was the president of two or three min
ing companies, and as the principal
stockholders were Wall street opera
tors his presence would be compulsory.
Now that she was gone he was afraid
that he should hear no more of her.
When he returned to Oreton the hotel
clerk handed him note written
in delicate hand, and on the
seal was the impression of
the letter III. He started as
if struck. Where had he seen that seal
before? Ten years had passed, but ten
years more could not blot out that i'm
preston from his memory. He retired
at once to his room, for note bearing
this seal was too holy to be read in the
presence of others. 1t read:
"oREToN, CoLo., Sept. l, 1886.
''Mr. James Johnson:
"EsTEEMEp SIR: Please DO not think me
rude or unladylike for pursuing this course to
express to you my appreciatonof your many
favors feel that am indebted to you for the
beneficial results TO my health, and would be
only too glad to reciprocate in any manner
within my means. 1 hope you will do me the
honor of paying me visit while you are in New
York My address is 143 F. avenue.
Sincerely Miss H. DEBAR"
He read it over and over again.
There was strange fascination about
the letter he could not resist. One
point seemed clear-the lady's Initial
was III. but the question arose in
his mind, where ~lia-sshe become pos
sessed of the seal9 Was it possible
she had received it from Harriet
Lane? he remembered of Har-
riet telling him that it had been in the
family for years, and that her grand
mother had had it made in Paris. Had
he met a friend Of Harriet's without
even asking of her whereabouts?
Something seemed to tell him that
through Miss De Bar he should once
more find Harriet 8t
From one corner of his desk he pro.
duced package of yellow letters over
which he had spent many hours when
his heart was heavy. Every one OF
them contained a seal, and on closj
comparison it became very evident
that the impressions in the wax were
made by the same stamp. These
old mementoes of his early love
brought back many pleasing
"reminiscences of the sweet Ions
ago, which had since been turned gall
He could not solve the mystery.
New York at last! The city had un
dergone many changes. Many of hi
old haunts had disappeared and in tn,
great metropolis not one recognized
in him Gerald Chambers. His bust
ness occupied much of his time. Ii
lllC llcdlulluC lhC pdPCiS hoi dHhOduN
ed the arrival in the city of "Mr
James johnson, prominent capital
list of Oreton, Colo. Spectator
anticipated ''big deal" and Wal
street opened its doors to him. Alto
gether he was made quite conspicu
Gus figure for the time being. Every
body seemed to know all about him
and he smiled as he thought how littl
they really did know. He noticed hoy
) ever-ready is the world to pick up
man if he has money.
1t was not until the day before hi
| departure that he found time to call o.
| Miss De Bar, and he accordingly ad
, dressed a note asking permission t
: come. Imagine his surprise when tn
| answer bidding him welcome wa
: stamped by the same seal. He wa
= burning with impatience to solve thi
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